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Migratory Game Bird Hunters Must Register for Harvest Information Program

All Vermont migratory game bird hunters, including youth, permanent and lifetime license holders, must register with the Federal Harvest Information Program (H.I.P.) each year in each state that you hunt.

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department provides migratory game bird hunters with a H.I.P. registration process online and by phone. Vermont, like other states, is required to annually provide a list of hunter names to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The list is used for their national migratory game bird harvest surveys.

H.I.P. enables the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S.F.W.S.) and state fish and wildlife agencies to develop reliable estimates of the number of migratory game birds harvested throughout the country. These estimates are important in making sound decisions about setting hunting season dates, bag limits and population management for ducks, geese, coots, snipe, and woodcock.

Hunters of migratory game birds are required to register on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website (vtfishandwildlife.com) or by calling toll- free 1-877-306-7091. After providing basic information, you will receive your annual H.I.P. registration number which you need to record on the H.I.P. section of your hunting license.

Hunters who have a permanent or lifetime Vermont hunting license should print out the website response form showing the H.I.P. number and carry this with them while hunting. Permanent and lifetime license holders who register by telephone between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday will receive a number over the phone for their license.

Hunters who have registered for H.I.P. and have lost their license or H.I.P. number can look up their number on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website.